Seventeen summers... Busyness: the Thief of Family Happiness

http://www.disciplelikejesus.com/blog/?p=704

The above is a great post that sums up a lot of what i think is wrong with what we're doing in the 20th century religious mode.

A quote from his beautifully written post:

I thought about my own busy schedule; go to work Monday through Friday with some evening work, then Monday night- Deacon’s meeting/basketball practice, Tuesday night- church visitation, Wednesday night- prayer meeting & youth Choir, Friday night- youth group meeting, Saturday- basketball game, yard work and church social, Sunday- teach Sunday School, attend worship, and back to church by 5:00pm for discipleship classes and evening worship. Most days we ate fast food or restaurant food while running to activities. My schedule allowed me exactly one night per week to spend with my family, and guess how we spent it? We went out to dinner, then watched television, a movie or I was on the internet!  At one point my wife worked outside of the home, which would have made things even worse.  Now she was busy providing taxi service to and from school, to basketball, to dance.  Add to that television, video games, neighborhood friends and all kinds of other activities that I couldn’t oversee.


I want a different life than this.  I don't want to drink the koolaid and miss out on what is most important to me.  I believe that all this push for numbers and busyness and programs actually widens the distance between us and Jesus.  Instead of Jesus, we're trying to please pastors or peers all of whom have some fabulous idea for our spare time.  And don't get me wrong, those ideas may all be fabulous - but they are not all even possible for me to say yes to every one, just like i can't say yes to every single charity that looks good and deserving - simply because i have x dollars a month - and 24 hours a day, and seven days a week.


My children *are* my ministry.  I have to say this, because it is not assumed anywhere now.  Children are the afterthought - the thing that can always be put off, dismissed, that you'll have time for later.  This isn't true.


Seventeen summers....


I'm a little convicted lately because i chose to get involved in a community project this summer, and it turned into not just a summer project, but a fall project, and a winter project, and soon it will be spring and then it will be a Big Responsibility.


I also have had some health challenges right now and i'm getting tested for various things, some minor and some not minor.  I know i need to get life insurance just in case it's the bad stuff, but all i want to do right now is cuddle down with my littles.


I think we set some really good habits early on in our marriage, and the last year or so we've tried to see if we could fit into what is on offer in modern church living, and it's just as ill fitting as it was back then.